Auto Suggestions are available once you type at least 3 letters. Use up arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+up arrow) and down arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+down arrow) to review and enter to select.

Overview

An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller—set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate—by Lindsay Cummings, co-author (with Sasha Alsberg) of the New York Times #1 Bestseller Zenith. "Legend meets La Femme Nikita in this dark and dangerous bloody thriller. The nonstop action of The Murder Complex kept us guessing at every twist and turn. It's a must for fans of action-packed dystopians like The Hunger Games and Divergent."—Justine Magazine

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision. The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn't know it—one of the MC's programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family? Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

About the Author

Lindsay Cummings is a book blogger and the author of the teen series the Murder Complex. She lives in Texas with two German shepherds, one wolf cub who isn't very smart, a horse named Dan the Man, and a husband named Josh. She eats too many hot Cheetos and can't stop dyeing her hair crazy colors.

Editorial Reviews

04/14/2014Cummings debuts with a bloody dystopian thriller, in which what’s left of humanity hides behind the great Perimeter and scrabbles over increasingly scarce resources. No one dies from natural causes, thanks to nanites in humans’ bloodstreams, and as a result violence and murder are commonplace. Sixteen-year-old Meadow Woodson fights to the death to earn a job that will let her feed her family. Everything changes when she meets Zephyr James, a mysterious young man secretly programmed to be a killer. Together, they confront the darkest secrets of their society, while battling each other and a host of other enemies. Cummings takes her dystopian setting to almost ludicrous extremes before springing a flurry of surprises on readers. The frequent perspective switches between Meadow and Zephyr are almost whiplash-inducing, and the characters prove hard to sympathize with: Meadow kills with worrisome casualness, Zephyr is almost too tormented by his role, and their predictable romance has little grounding. The setting remains nebulous, and the cliffhanger ending leaves much to be resolved. Ages 14–up. Agent: Louise Fury, L. Perkins Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

2014-04-09In a world where no one can die, murder is the only way out.In an overcrowded, not-so-distant future Florida, the Initiative keeps a close eye on citizens. Years ago, a plague threatened humanity, but Pins implanted under the skin release nanites that keep everyone healthy. Sixteen-year-old Meadow has been trained by her fisherman father to survive and to kill if necessary. Zephyr, 17, is an orphaned Ward; his job is to clean up the corpses of the victims of the 300-plus murders each month with his only friend, Talan. Zephyr has blackouts and is sure he has killed several people; and sometimes during his blackouts he dreams of a silver-haired girl. When Zephyr and Meadow meet, they set in motion a series of events that will change their world...and maybe the world at large forever. Cummings' debut, a bloody sci-fi thriller, strains credulity as the plot twists mount and previously held beliefs are shown to be false. Zephyr and Meadow trade off present-tense narration duties in alternating chapters, but their voices are not distinct enough for the device to work well. The world built is interesting enough, but it never comes alive and peters out at the close.Those in need of more dystopian fiction (is there anyone in this glut?) could do worse, but it's not a first purchase. (Dystopian romance. 14-17)

Kirkus Reviews

05/01/2014Gr 9 Up—A cure for human disease has been found, and overpopulation sets in, causing the society in this bleak dystopian novel to create an official murder compound. Cummings builds an intense, distinct world full of rogue pirates and government commandments. Meadow's main concern is taking care of her family, and her father has trained her to survive in any situation, making her a tough fighter. Zephyr is an unhappy ward assigned to carry out the Initiative's violent commands. After a chance encounter brings the two together, they form an immediate bond, though the reasons for their desire are not set up beforehand, which leads to a forced romance. The point of view alternates between the teens, but it is difficult to distinguish between their narrative voices. This dismal look at the darker side of humanity raises interesting questions of wealth, power, and privacy, yet none of them is fully explored. An additional purchase for those still looking to bolster their dystopian collections.—Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ

Emma Lee raines knows there's only one cure for a bad case of murderI told
you I was sick, reads the headstone above Mamie Sue Preston's grave. She was the richest woman in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky, and also the biggest ...

The perfect novel for young readers who love baking and magic!Rosemary Bliss's family has a
secret. It's the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Singing Gingersnaps.Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke ...

She sees dead peopleBeautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day
in her life -- until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry.Suddenly ...

Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady returns in this outstanding new mystery set in the beautiful desert
country of the Southwest.With a baby on the way, sudden deaths in the family from which to recover, a re-election campaign looming, and a daughter ...

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray begins a new series—The
Amish of Hart County—with this suspenseful tale of a young Amish woman who is forced to move to a new town to escape a threatening ...

At a university in Reykjavík, the body of a young German student is discovered, his
eyes cut out and strange symbols carved into his chest. Police waste no time in making an arrest, but the victim's family isn't convinced that ...

To restore family honor the Marquess of Rotherstone faces his most dangerous mission—finding the perfect
bride . . .To London's aristocracy, the Inferno Club is a scandalous society of men no proper young lady would acknowledge. But though they are ...